Main image of article What Generative A.I. Skills are Employers Hiring For?

Many companies want tech pros skilled in all aspects of generative A.I., from building and refining large language models (LLMs) to perfecting prompts. But which generative A.I. skills are they actually on the lookout for?

According to O’Reilly Media’s new Generative A.I. in the Enterprise report, companies working on generative A.I. primarily want tech pros with A.I. programming skills; they’re also interested in data analysts and other data specialists. General A.I. literacy is likewise key. Here are some of the most-desired skills, as determined by a global survey of more than 2,800 technology professionals:

When it comes to generative A.I., companies also want tech pros skilled in security, testing, and data collection. “One of the biggest challenges facing companies developing with AI is expertise. Do they have staff with the necessary skills to build, deploy, and manage these applications?” the report stated.

If that wasn’t enough, tech pros interested in A.I. should have the ability to think strategically, as building and deploying A.I. may force organizations to re-engineer many workflows and processes, particularly those related to software engineering and product management. “These [A.I.] products differ in many ways from more traditional applications, and while practices like continuous integration and deployment have been very effective for traditional software applications, AI requires a rethinking of these code-centric methodologies,” the report added. “The model, not the source code, is the most important part of any AI application, and models are large binary files that aren’t amenable to source control tools like Git. And unlike source code, models grow stale over time and require constant monitoring and testing.”

Given the importance of A.I. skills—and the complexity of A.I. projects—it’s no wonder that tech pros who master generative A.I. can demand healthy premiums in compensation. For example, new study by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Access Partnership found that employers “are willing to pay an average of 47 percent more for IT workers with A.I. skills.” Many companies will pay generous six-figure salaries for top A.I. talent—and maybe even more, when you consider stock options and other elements of a well-rounded compensation package.